Hunting is an enjoyable activity for many Americans and other people around the world. They take their firearms and hike out to the hunting grounds. Along the way they may need to traverse fences such as rural western ranch fences or T post fences. There may also be other obstacles to traverse along the way. At times the hunters will need to find a reasonable location to relieve themselves. Hence there are multiple reasons why people may need to free up their hands and temporarily not carry their firearms or other weapons such as archery bows and arrows.
Usually when this occurs, the firearms are leaned [without being secured] against a tree or other support. If another hunter is present, the firearms might be given to the other hunter to hold. Alternatively they are placed on the ground. Debris, mud, water, snow, etc. can then dirty the firearm or its barrel
This inventor has noted that over the last 30 years or so, neither the trade literature nor hunting practices have adequately addressed the need for more securely stowing firearms when hands-free and firearm-free needs arise. Hence there remains a need for better firearm management in these situations to prevent dirtying or damaging the firearm that must be temporarily put aside.
The present invention uses a barrel clip of unitary construction without springs or brackets to attach a firearm to a fence, tree branches, or other available non-human supports in order to free up the hunter's hands for other activities.
A variety of clips exist in the non-firearm related areas. Examples include ornamental clips such as the handle clip of D560482 and the Christmas Light Holder of D375453. Another example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,090 in which Tucker describes a golf putter holder as a lightweight molded holder that hooks onto and grips the rim of a golf bag and holds a golf putter in an upright position. The Tucker holder configuration is different than that of the present invention. Further there is no suggestion by Tucker that his holder can be used for anything other than golf clubs.
Similar belt and bag holders, also including a deflecting tab slot and used for golf accessories, are described in Hurtgam's patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,808,095 and 6,634,528. Again the configuration is different than that of the present inventive clip and no suggestion is made to use such holders outside of the needs in golfing. Further, the holders may be attached to belts on people. This would not occur with use of the present inventive clip/barrel combination as the need is to provide a temporary support away from the people.
It is well known that there are clips that attach firearms to slings or belts worn by their bearers. Examples of such clips include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,431,122, 4,542,840, Re37111, and D378954. However none of these are configured as is the present invention. Further, none of these clips are intended for use in attaching firearms to fences, tree branches, or other non-human supports.
In U.S. Pat. No. 897,577, Bourne describes a barrel grip for pistols that allows for more accurate shooting when the shooter rests the flattened part of the grip extension on a support surface . The construction is not unitary and is not for stowing the pistol temporarily away from the shooter.
There are also clips known that attach firearms to non-moving supports in order to enable better shooting or to free up the hunter's hands. Such supports may be tripods, tree trunks, etc. Examples of such clips include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,022,898, 6,272,785, 6,951,072, and 7,380,486. These clips are not of unitary construction and are of very different configurations as compared to the present inventive barrel clip.
For instance, Schurtenberger in U.S. Pat. No. 6,951,072 describes a barrel mounted foldout gunrest hook. The attachment to a barrel includes a barrel attaching bracket of a split ring with a screw for size adjustment. A sharp hook is extended from the bracket and used to pierce wooden materials in order to secure the firearm to the wood for steadier shooting. Not only is this device's configuration not unitary, but also use of this device causes damage to the wooden environment it is used on.
Clearly there therefore is a need for a barrel clip of unitary, simple, inexpensive, lightweight construction that can be easily, rapidly, and reversibly used to safely hook firearms or other weapons onto fences, tree branches, or other objects during hiking without damaging the firearms or other weapons nor the environs.